Author's Note: Characterization of Sten Legacy. Development of the relationship between Sten and Ryu; I want to make them fit into the "master and apprentice" or "father and son" scheme. At the very least, I want Ryu to be a mirror for Sten. Also, I padded the ending with a long-overdue interaction between Ryu and Katt. If you hadn't noticed, I'm giving Ryu plenty of stage time with both of the lovely ladies. Can we say love polygon? I knew we could.

Chapter Eight: New Directions

"So ye see, 'tis all in tha' wrist," Sten explained as he juggled no less than a dozen daggers in front of a fascinated Nina. "And to them all disappear, is merely a matter o' patience and—o' course—timing." With a flourish, each blade vanished into his palm, one after the other. Nina applauded appreciatively at the Highlander's impressive demonstration of sleight of hand.

"Your fingers must be very useful in these tricks, Sten," the Windian reasoned. "They are very supple."

The Highlander curled his digits with a grin. "They are indeed, lass. Here!" He took out a coin and made it dance across his knuckles. Again, Nina clapped her hands together with a wide smile.

"He's really very good," she announced to her other companions.

Katt leaned forward from where she sat on a boulder, also enraptured by the Highlander's amazing dexterity. "So do you do parlor tricks for a living, Sten?" the Woren asked, resting her chin in her palms.

"Aye, lass. But only for a bit. I'm a thief through a through, ye know." He waggled a hairy eyebrow playfully at her. "But don't ye fret. I don't steal from friends, aye?"

Ryu—who was whittling away at the piece of wood he had been working on when he last visited Bow and Niro—had his own ideas about the "honor" of thieves. And to call him a thief is to ignore a greater mystery, Ryu thought. No thief knows his way around a knife like that, not in a wrestling match. He has to be some sort of fighter. But the bigger question is why he wants to hang around us?

The ranger peered up into the blue sky. "Noon's just about to pass," he murmured. "We've dallied too long already." He stood up, pocketing the wood. He called out to the others, "Pack your things. It's time to leave."

"I don't see the rush," Katt said, throwing on her backpack reluctantly; she wanted to see more of Sten's tricks. "I mean, we don't even know where we're supposed to be going, anyway."

"A good point," Ryu conceded. He warily turned to Sten. "Perhaps you might be so kind as to give us a direction."

The Highlander looked a bit puzzled. "I'm not sure I understand, lad."

"We're looking for someone," Ryu clarified. "A girl of about seventeen with blue hair and eyes. And bat wings."

Sten's eyes widened in recognition. "Oh, that one? Aye, I've seen her. She was heading west, toward Capitan. She had a big bag with her. Not that ye can ever forget someone who looks like that."

"That would be her," the ranger said. At last, a trail to follow.

"Why ye be seeking her, anyway?" Sten inquired.

"A friend of Ryu's, named Bow, was framed for theft because of her," Katt supplied. "If we bring her back to Hometown, we can clear Bow's name."

Sten looked impressed. "A most noble thing, to stick by yer friends." A misty, faraway look stole into his slanted eyes. Aye, he thought glumly, it really is a noble thing to stick by yer friends. Which is why I'm not noble at all.

The change in expression was not lost on the ever-observant Ryu. Something's troubling him, he mused. There's a story here. But it isn't one to pry into, it seems. He did not pursue that line of thought further. Instead, he shouldered his bags and strode westward. "Come on," he declared in his normally distant tone, "if we march hard, we should be in the mountains by sundown. I estimate it to be about a week's march south to pass the range and then another week to reach Capitan."

"Oh joy," Katt moaned flatly. "More walking."

"At least you'll lose some weight," Nina offered helpfully, which only earned her a death glare from the Woren. The Windian wisely backed away from making any further jokes.

The day passed by uneventfully. Katt and Nina, both curious about their strange new traveling companion, spent most of the march questioning Sten about his own adventures. The loquacious Highlander was very sociable and a well-traveled vagabond, making him a marvelous conversationalist.

"Ah, the wonders I've seen, dear lasses," he said to them with theatrical flourish. "I've traveled from tha' coasts o' peaceful Hometown to tha' mysterious islands o' Tunlan. Why, these eyes 'ave even seen the ruins o' the dragon city o' Drogen, the forest realm of Romero, and the sunken island of Agua, which legends say used to fly high in the sky!"

I wonder how much of it is true, Ryu wondered silently, and I wonder how much of it is embellished.

When night fell and camp was set, the ranger decided to find out first hand. He approached the Highlander, who was busily stoking the fire. "Sten," Ryu said, "could I speak with you?" He made sure that Nina and Katt were out of earshot. "Privately?"

Suddenly, the theatrics were gone. Sten's face was serious, his stance and gait measured, calculated, balanced. Ryu thought he looked like a coiled spring, ready to move into action—a fighter, ready to draw.

"Ye've been agitated around me," the Highlander said simply.

"That's because I don't trust you," the ranger said, just as bluntly.

Sten blinked in surprise. "That's very honest o' ye. Now, why? Do ye 'ave something against fellow travelers?"

"I've something against thieves," Ryu replied. "I used to be one, so I know better than to trust them. So, what is it you want from us, anyway, Sten Legacy? Money? Loot?"

Sten smiled wanly, tiredly, as if a great weight were pressing upon his shoulders. "How about simple companionship and a bit o' fun? I did say I ne'er steal from friends."

"Again, I used to be a thief. The word of a thief isn't the most reliable thing in the world."

The Highlander reclined on his heels, a smug smile tugging at his wide lips. "So if yer so dead set on distrusting me, then how do ye know any true word I give ye is truth?"

Ryu's emerald eyes hardened.

"Didn't think o' that, did ye, lad?" Sten chuckled. "Don't get yer pants in a knot, son. I'm just an old traveler. I did o' bit a pick-pocketing in me day, did a bit o' soldiering, did a bit o' this and that and yer younger brother, but that's all behind me now. Even if ye don't trust me, ye can at least be civil, aye?"

"Why are you traveling with us?" Ryu asked finally.

Sten shrugged. "Don't 'ave anything better to do. Besides, traveling with two pretty ladies—man's dream, aye?"

The shadow of a grin tugged at the ranger's mouth. "They're young enough to be your daughters," he said.

Again, Sten shrugged. "I hear mature's in these days." A mischievous, joking glint appeared in the Highlander's eye. "Afraid of a bit o' competition, eh, pretty boy?"

This time, Ryu did laugh. "You're welcome to them. I'm no good with girls. At any rate, I owe you an apology." He stuck out a hand. "I had no right to be as brusque with you as I have been."

Sten took it. "Aye, well, yer still a bratty kid, ye know. Ye got a lot o' learning to do. And ye got to respect yer elders, hear?"

"I hear."

It was Sten's turn at the watch. He knew how to keep one, too—probably better than all three of his traveling companions combined. Though that Ryu would give me a run for me money, he admitted. That one's a bit on the paranoid side, but he's clearly got a good head on his shoulders. He'd be a good soldier.

Sten pulled a root from the ground and started gnawing on it, knowing that the simple mechanical motion of chewing would keep him awake. He looked at his companions, noticed how they slept. Ye can always learn the way of a man by the way he sleeps, he thought, recalling the old Highlander adage.

Katt tossed and turned, snoring loudly. Fiery, passionate. Like a freshly tempered blade that's still red from the furnace. Reminds me of Cadjo. Ah, what a fighter that one was!

Nina slept with the blankets close to her chin, as if it were a shield; a startling contrast to Katt. She wants to feel protected, but she doesn't trust in her own strength to do so. Hildar was like that, until he learned to be more confident. Maybe she will, too.

And Ryu—the oddball, the paranoid—slept with his back against a tree trunk, a sword across his knees. Even asleep he's ready for a fight, Sten thought. That one doesn't care if he leads a life of war. Poor soul, it'll eat him alive, it will. But he's smart. He can keep Katt under control and protect Nina, too—I'd wager me best knife on that. He's…like me. He's smart, but he's stupid, too. Like me.

Sten sighed suddenly. And what o' ye, ye old bag o' bones, ye old coward? Ye wanted to run from it all for so many years…and now ye ran right back into a group just like before—another Cadjo, another Hildar…another Sten Legacy. Hell, maybe ye'll run into another Truvo while yer at it!

The Highlander punched the grass angrily. Ye were never good enough to face yer problems, so ye ran away. And if ye end up running right back into yer problems, then yer no good at running away, either. Fine luck ye have, Sten Legacy. Fine bloody luck indeed. What bollix.

A soft, almost imperceptible rustling drew the Highlander's attention. Instinctively, he went for the knife he slipped under his sleeve. But he pulled his fingers away from the hilt when he saw Ryu coming up behind him.

"My turn," the ranger said. "Go get some sleep."

"I didn't even realize me shift was over," Sten admitted. "Must be getting absent-minded in me old age." The Highlander went to his blankets without another word. When slumber took him, it brought with it old memories…and not all of them good.

Ryu watched the Highlander's restless sleep. Demons within, he thought, can only be faced from within. But it isn't my problem, nor is it any of my business.

The ranger sat down on the grass and took out the top. I should finish the whistle, he thought, staring at the top. Bow said he wanted one. It's taking me longer to make it…but…. Ryu wound the top and let it spin. Doesn't spin as well on grass, but it still spins. It doesn't know where or why or how it spins, but it spins. Like me—I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm just going at it one step at a time.

He looked up into the starry sky. Wait a bit longer, Bow. We'll clear your name soon.

Katt awoke groggily. She scrubbed sleep from her eyes with the heel of her hand. "It's morning already," she noted. She blinked. "It's morning already! My shift! No one woke me up!"

She saw Ryu sitting on the grass, quietly whittling away at a piece of wood. The Woren stormed up to him and bopped him on the head. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

The ranger scratched at his offended scalp and answered, "I tried. You just kept sleeping."

She bopped him again. "Are you saying I'm lazy?"

"I'm saying you're a heavy sleeper." It was reply that earned him a third bop. "Please stop that."

"You shouldn't take other people's shifts," Katt chastised. "You'll be sleepy, too. And it's bad for your health."

"Workaholics don't get sick," he countered.

"If you didn't sound so damn serious, I'd say you almost made a joke."

"Take it as you will. At any rate, I don't mind losing a few hours of sleep. If you feel the need to make it up to me, then fix breakfast."

Katt looked at him, wondering if he was making fun of her, and decided that he was. She bopped him on the head a fourth time.

"I asked you to stop that, Katt."

"You deserve it, you workaholic." She went to make breakfast in a huff. Pots and skillets clattered loudly as she went about the chore. He's such an idiot, taking two shifts like that! Stupid man. He's going to get a cold doing that. Stupid.

She stopped banging pans together to look at him. He had returned to shaping that piece of wood in his hands. Still, she thought with a kind smile, it was nice of him to do it. Even if he was being stupid.

When breakfast was finished, she handed him a plate of potatoes and crispy bacon. "Here," she said. "At the least, I make sure that you don't catch more of a cold because you ain't eating right."

"Thank you," he said coolly, tucking in. Katt nodded and went to wake Sten and Nina. Ryu finished off some bacon and appraised her handiwork in the same distant tone, "Tastes like ashes."

Suddenly, the iron-shod end of a quarterstaff bopped him on the head—hard.

"I heard that!"

Ryu rubbed his bruised scalp, checking to see if it was bleeding. Capitan looks farther and farther away.

And so the day passed as all days do, from morning to afternoon to dusk and night. The four travelers had gathered around a crackling fire to ward off the late autumn chill, for the seasons had started turn to the cold touch of winter.

"We might make Capitan before the first snow, if we're lucky," Ryu observed. "As it is, we should pitch the tents soon. It will rain tonight."

"I agree," said Sten with a sagely nod.

Katt blinked. "Uh…how do you two figure that? Since when were you able to predict the weather?"

"'Tis merely a matter o' paying attention, Katt," the Highlander explained.

"But meteorology is a difficult field," Nina protested, having studied some in the Magic School at Hometown. "Winds change course, pressure differences might not be—"

"Believe us, lass. Ye pay attention enough, ye'll know. It'll rain, don't ye doubt. So, up with tha' tents, aye?"

Sure enough, as soon as the tent was up, the first patters of rain drummed on the canvas. Nina looked at the two men in wonder. "That is an impressive talent you possess," she said appreciatively.

"Just learn to pay attention," Sten said simply.

Ryu, Sten, and Nina wrapped themselves in blankets and were about to take to their beds. But Katt mewed weakly, curled up in a shivering ball of fur. The steady beating of the rain seemed to terrify her; her ears twitched wildly and her face was pale beneath her fur.

And then came the thunder. Katt yelped.

"You don't like thunder," Nina noted sympathetically, squeezing the Woren's hand. "It's okay, Katt. It's only thunder."

"It's…so…loud," the Woren burbled. "Sorry, I'm such a wimp. But…thunder is scary."

"Nothing to be ashamed o', lass," said Sten. "'Tis a good thing, really, to know what yer afraid o'. Means ye know what to avoid, what to look out for. But if it really bothers ye, maybe ye can think o' something else? Take yer mind off it, ye see."

"I'll…try," Katt whimpered.

Suddenly, Ryu spoke, breaking his customary silence. "Perhaps a story will set your mind at ease. Would you like that?"

Katt looked at him, surprised—so did everyone else. Then the Woren slowly nodded. Ryu sighed, closed his eyes, and began. "This is a story my…my mother…told me when I was very, very young. She said it has great meaning for me, because I was named after one of the characters.

"Once upon a time, when our world was young, there were two clans—the Light Dragons and the Dark Dragons. The Dark Dragons were a vindictive and violent people, who had began a war of conquest. They wanted to take over the entire world. The Light Dragons were peaceful, a stark contrast to their cousins. One day, the Dark Dragons came to the Light Dragons' village and destroyed it. They thought they had killed everyone, but a few people survived. Among them was my namesake, a warrior named Ryu.

"Ryu wasn't very smart, or very strong, or very good at any particular thing. Indeed, he was a very normal person, except that he had a birthmark on his forehead—the genetic marker of all Light Dragons. Ryu saw the Dark Dragons kill his sister and so swore an oath of vengeance.

"Since he was so normal, it seemed like an impossible task to defeat the Dark Dragons and their empire. But he made many friends along his journey and he traveled far—the forests of the west, the deserts of the south, the mysterious islands of the east. He went everywhere with his seven comrades—one from each of the major races. Together, they found the one weapon that could defeat the Dark Dragons, a song that could slay any wyrm.

"Ryu went to challenge the Dark Dragons and their leader, Emperor Zog, alone, bearing only his sword and the song. He played it before Zog, crushing his heart…and, sadly, sacrificing his own life, because he, too, carried the blood of dragons in his veins."

"My mother always said that Ryu's sacrifice was heroic, the stuff of legend and myth. She said I should always try to emulate such valiance and righteousness." The ranger sneered to himself, a wry and sarcastic twist of his lips. "I don't believe in it, myself. What my namesake did was stupid; he should have had one of his friends play the song instead, someone who wouldn't have been affected by it. And at any rate, it's an old story; who knows if it's actually true, or if this is even the correct form of the tale. It could have been redacted along the way."

"Still," Nina said quietly, "it's…a very nice story. Even if it might not be true."

"Yeah," Katt agreed. "I feel better after hearing it; thanks, Ryu."

The ranger nodded. "Don't mention it." He tilted an ear toward the canvas. "Seems the rain has stopped; you're in the clear, Katt."

The Woren smiled happily, regaining some of her usual zest. "So it seems. Heh, heh." She turned her thankful grin toward the ranger, coloring slightly when their gazes passed by each other. He's really nice, she thought. It was thoughtful of him to come up with that story.

"Hey Sten," Katt said, poking the Highlander on the shoulder, "what did you think of Ryu's story?"

The Highlander grunted indifferently. "Like pretty boy said, 'tis an old story, an improbable story. Probably altered over the roll o' years. I heard a million like it, but…." His eyes went misty at some memory. But it sounds a great deal like Goonheim. He noticed that Katt was looking at him in concern and he hurriedly said, "But it's just another hero tale. Stuff like that don't happen, lass. Hero business is for fools."

"I couldn't agree more," Ryu said. "Anyway, let's all get some sleep. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."